I CANNOT BELIEVE how many people I've seen lately riding around without a helmet on!!!! :mad:
How stupid do you have to be???
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I CANNOT BELIEVE how many people I've seen lately riding around without a helmet on!!!! :mad:
How stupid do you have to be???
+1
I also think this when I see people riding horses without helmets.
I totally agree!! How can anyone even think they couldn't get seriously hurt on a bike? I went over the bars on my mtn bike a few years back and cracked my helmet and the Styrofoam inside, in several places. Can't imagine what would have happened to my head had I not had a helmet on.
I work for an orthodontist and we see a lot of kids. There was a boy in last week, who rode his bike to his appt, no helmet of course. We always encourage our patients to wear helmets and stress the importance of it.
We talked to this kid and his mom, who came to pick him up and told him to stop at the LBS on his way home and get a helmet. He was in again today and when asked if he got a helmet he said: "No, but I got a new bike" Go figure!
On a side note, my boss knows this family on a personal level.
Oh yea, this past weekend we saw a great Darwin Awards candidate in the making.
So I'm out with my cycling club and we are at a stop light. We see this lady riding (she's going North, we are going East)... on a VERY BUSY STREET! She's riding along, on a cruiser style bike, with no helmet on.
Seriously, this is a road I would NEVER rides on alone. In fact, our cycling club won't even ride on it in a pack.
So we go through our light and to the next one (we are now going North, she is now going East).
She crosses our path again. One of the older fellows in our group yells out to her, "wear a helmet".
To which she politely replies that she has a helmet and points to the bag hanging off her fender.
Apparently the helmet was in a bag on her bike... covered... and being kept clean. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
STUPID LADY!
Folks, along with the normal crew of Darwin Award recipients the spike in gas prices is bringing a lot of newbies out. Some just took the bike down from the garage and thought "here, this will save me a buck or two".
Let's give 'em a break.
Offer suggestions "your helmet is on backwards, can I show you how to put that on?" :) Worst we can do is yell at 'em which just adds to the whole "cyclists are elitests" thing and may just scare them so much they fall over.
Some may keep riding, that's a good thing.
I sometimes use the "big smile, point at helmet, pat the head" jesture.
OTOH, when my neighbors 70's French-threaded fully lugged steel Motobecane stoped working because they did not pump the tires :rolleyes: :cool: and they abandon it on the bulk waste pick up in my condo complex, I did not offer "here, let me show you how easy this is"
I'll let them go replace with a box store bike and then we'll educate them from there ;-)
I sometimes can't help it, I just like irony too much sometimes:
"Cool bike! Nice helmet." as I pass someone without a lid on on the road.
Me too, "nice job of calling out" when racers blow by me :rolleyes:
I usually call after them- "Thanks for the heart attack!" :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Trek420
Do you want the racers to ring their little bells as well :rolleyes:
A month or two ago I saw a family out riding. The little kid had her helmet in her front basket. In case a cop showed up, I supposed, same as they do on the motorcycles :(
Now you've made me remember that, I have to spend another couple of hours damping my outrage down.
-Oak, still alive because of the helmet I was wearing that day 21 years ago.
The little bell means "prime sprint." Ring their bells if they want me to kick their *sses on the way to the city limit sign!!! :D;)Quote:
Originally Posted by crazycanuck
Riding with a new cycling buddy tonight. Busy road - crossing Railroad Tracks at an obtuse angle - requiring a cyclist to take the lane to cross safely.
We signaled. Took the lane - and some red neck tried to pass buddy on the right side.
He went down hard - hitting his head and CRACKING his helmet.
We got him home and I called a few minutes ago to confirm he's OK. Other than road rash and a little headache, he seemed fine :) His girlfriend is there in case some issue emerges...
Now I know at least two people (including Silver) saved by a helmet!
I will NEVER ride without a helmet!
Viva La Helmet!
PS: My regret??? Appropriately, I focused on getting to him...but if I got that license plate, I guarantee you I would have sworn a wreckless driving and vehicular assualt warrant on that driver!
Dear Mr. Silver,
I'm a bit of a klutz at times and I can tell you that the brain bucket saved my life on two separate occasions.
Yes thank goodness for the helmet.
------------
I did have a talk with a young man about wearing a helmet. We were standing and waiting for the light to turn green. He told me no need since he isn't riding like one of the racers. To him, I looked like a racer of sort.(okay so I'm decked out in full cycling gear sans CSC, Team Discovery... jersey. I wear "normal" jersey not even a kit). The light turns green, the young man trying to look like Joe cool starts up, mashes on his pedal to get in front of me and proceeded to jack knife his front wheel. Down he went. Oh poor boy.
I didn't want to add insult to his bruised ego, so I went on my cherry way.
I hope he has enough sense to buy a helmet.
------------
I say nothing to the ones without a brain. I just tap my helmet two or three times as I pass by.
Smilingcat
Whether or not kids around here wear a helmet seems to totally depend on the socio-economic make up of the community. I have noticed this on my drive home from work, which goes through 4 towns.
Working class communities, not necessarily low income: maybe really young kids (less than 8) wear them
hardly any adults wear them
middle class, mix of blue collar and white collar: a little bit better than the above, but I rarely see an older kid or teen wearing a helmet
mostly professional communities: the kids all wear them, but when parents ride with them, the parents don't! (unless they are "cyclists")
About 5 years ago, the police department in the town I teach in gave any student who wanted one, a free helmet. We found some of them thrown on the parking lot. I rarely see any kids wearing them when they ride to school. A few have them hanging from their handlebars. When I ride to school, I leave my helmet prominently hanging from the drop bar of my bike.
I often tell riders when their helmets are fitted improperly.
I am polite and non-condescending (I hope...). I explain that a helmet saved my wife...and that they may want to wear it like this...
It's always been received well...but if it's not...I don't really care.
I can't keep someone from jumping off a cliff...but I'd feel guilty if I could have intervened and didn't.
With all of that said... I have to say that honestly I don't care if someone wears a helmet or not. It's their life. Their head. It's not my place to tell them to protect it.
We let people ride motorcycles, legally, without a helmet. They drive 60-70-80+ mph, with a helmet. It's legal.
I don't care if that person chooses to wear a helmet or not.. and I don't care if a cyclist cares or not. Honestly.
My cycling club gets all in a huff about it, and no one is allowed to ride with us, without one... but I personally don't care.
But I did think it was funny that the lady was carrying her helmet on her bike and not wearing it. I also think it's equally funny with a see someone on a motorcycle doing that as well.
With all of that said... I wear a helmet at all times. I did when I rode motorcycles (for 2 years-no other transportation)... and I do it riding my bike. :)
I feel exactly the same way you do, KSH. It's their head and they are responsible for it. Kids I would encourage but adults, well, you are on your own.
I always wear a helmet (partly) because I had a bad accident as a kid.. front wheel came off my mtb on a dirt road (super cool older brother had been "playing" with my bike earlier), the fork dug in and I flipped over. I just happened to land on the wheel which punctured my stomach and the rest of the bike landed on my head. I ended up with a very deep gouge in the helmet and it was also cracked in half. It felt great :eek:
I always wear one when I ski, snowboard or rock climb.
BUT.. I also ride horses, and although I wear a helmet 99% of the time I do have a tendency to hop on quickly to show someone something or will jump on one of the horses out in the field with no saddle/bridle/helmet (I'm a genius, I know). I'm less strict with myself around the horses, probably because I'm more solid riding them than a bike or walking on my own two feet. :p
Helmets are great.. but what really grinds my gears are people who have them just kind of sitting on the back of their head or they just don't fit properly. What's the point if it's not going to stay on anyway? :confused:
New bike shop in town has brought out a lot of new riders in my small community. After our three hour faculty meeting today I went out for a spin to work off some of my frustrations of the day (long meeting + a full day of student testing!). I passed a cyclist heading the opposite direction - no helmet on his head. I simply shook my head (helmet in place) and said to myself "there goes another organ donor." I will never understand why people (cyclist/motorcyclists, etc) have such an aversion to protecting their brains.
I wear a helmet, but if other people don't want to - it doesn't bother me. I think americans have become way too hysterical about such things - not just bike hemets - but life in general. I usually don't wear a seatbelt, I eat food after the expiration date and will ride in the back of pick up trucks if the occasion arises.
My daughter admitted to something one day, as she was finishing up the classroom part of driver's ed.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crankin
"Until I took this class, I wasn't buckling my seatbelt when I was sitting where you couldn't see me." She went on to say that "after watching all the movies in these classes, I buckle my seatbelt no matter what now."
A little bit of rebellion, mixed in with a dose of they don't know the why, and the invincibility of inexperience!
The ones who ride carrying them instead of wearing them PROBABLY wore them until they got out of mom's sight. Then they took them off, cuz they're not cool, before any of their friends saw them!
Karen in Boise
I have been in a bike accident without a helmet, and in a car accident without a seatbelt.
Got some distorted facial bones to remember them by. I was very lucky.
Every time Sknot tried to get out of wearing either, I told him the stories and played show-n-tell.
There are times when I feel it's appropriate to wear a helmet and times when I don't think it's necessary.
When I started rock climbing in the early 90's there was a lot of arguments about whether a climbing helmet should always be worn, or whether the individual should be allowed to determine when it was appropriate. There was always some pompous jackass in the letters section of the climbing mags pontificating about how all us crazy people climbing without helmets were begging for death (Darwin Awards weren't known then).
Fortunately, it's ultimately impossible to legislate this sort of thing on climbing crags and mountains.
For the record, I've also soloed mountains and done significant amounts of back country travel by myself. Just me and my skills. Cheap insurance is one thing, but learning to be aware of your skills and your surroundings will prevent far more injuries than any helmet.
Yeah, and it's my back breaking when they end up on the neuro floor flipping their bodies that happen to breathe while no long-term care facility will take them for 5-8 months.Quote:
Originally Posted by KSH
However, it does give me plenty of job security.
To clarify...this is when I intervene. It's the folks who have a false sense of security that benefit from the awareness & education. The folks who don't care? I agree with KSH and f8th on that (although I silently disapprove...)Quote:
Originally Posted by K8sgotgame
In the wreck I described tonight, cycling buddy had two tiny scapes over his eyebrows from impact. If his helmet was on the back of his head, he would have had a serious head trauma...and just 20 minutes before, I had demonstrated to him the proper position for the helmet (he's a fairly new rider)...and I'm glad I did.
Yeah - I'm with those that don't get it, but don't get upset about it either.
That's not quite right, it upsets me a *little* when I see someone decked out like a lean+mean French racer dude on a hotshot fast bike winging down a busy road without a helmet, for the same reason that it upsets me a little when obviously good rock climbers lead pitches without a helmet, because it gives the impression that "kids, if you're good enough, you don't need a helmet".
On the other hand, it is their head and their life they're risking, and I can't force people to be good examples. Nor do I feel that people should be good examples at all times.
But the average joes out trying what it's like to ride to work or whatever, riding slowly and staying way out of traffic - I don't worry too much about the lack of a helmet. If I can I try to mention it as a friendly tip, and tell them about the times it's saved me from head injury, and about the time not wearing one gave my dh a bad concussion and 8 stitches to his head.
But I do wear a seatbelt. Never know when some other idjit is going to rear-end you, people do the strangest things in cars.
Well, I do get upset and I do care. I am sorry if some think that we legislate too many things. Meg, you summed up my opinion, perfectly. I'm not a nurse, but sure, don't wear your helmet or your seatbelt. When you crash, and you will, "we" will be paying for it. Especially if you don't have health insurance. My state has a new mandatory health insurance law. It is reasonably priced and covers a lot of stuff (my son has it). People complain about that, too.
I went through a car windshield when I was 15. I have not been in a car without wearing a seatbelt since then. And in 1969, I don't think anyone else wore one.
One time, I said something to a a young teenaged couple who were holding their baby on their lap, no car seat. They got enraged and tried to follow me. I just drove home and they gave up.
Until people think about the consequences of not following safety rules, I will keep saying stuff to them.
Oh goodness, I didn't expect to see this debate on this board ;):rolleyes:
I have no passion left on this issue. I've been online on motorcycle boards for over 15 years now. I'm not interested in talking about helmet legislation and I'm not interested in hearing other people's opinion about it.
There are things I would like to say related to the medical/industrial complex in this country and its unholy alliance with the insurance industry. About insurance companies' threats and scare tactics, and about the pricing of medical services. If we want to drift this thread that direction - although I expect the level of censorship on this board won't allow it - then I'm in.
My underlying point here is that life is not safe and that what someone decides to do with their body is none of my business. For all of the people who get upset about helmets (or lack thereof) another group gets just as upset that we are on the road at all because of how dangerous it is. the one and only time I wore high heels - I fell off them (and they were not very high or spiky) and broke my ankle - but I don't feel the need to tell everyone else not to wear them - despite evidence that they can deform feet, cause back pain etc. (of course - an argument can be made that if I cannot walk in high heels - I should not be on a bike at all, let alone on the road on a bike. Rollerblades should be right out).
I really don't want to offend, but feel the need to say this... If you go through a windshield and get killed or get thrown from a truck bed and killed in an accident that you would have otherwise survived, it creates enormous guilt for the driver of the other car even if they weren't necessarily at fault. If you don't care about your life enough to take some basic precautions, I don't consider that my business, but I do feel bad for the others who will be affected if you are killed, paralyzed, suffer severed limbs, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by farrellcollie
Actually I think most people would just blame me for being stupid and go on with their lives. Death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person in my opinion - this is the main reason I don't wear a seatbelt. When I was practicing law as a plaintiff's atty - I saw more people injured by seatbelts than I want to be. People not wearing seatbelts are often just dead. But I was really just using those as an example of choices people make that others may or may not agree with - helmets, smoking, steroids, and seatbelts do get people on both sides riled up.
Sorry you feel that way. I know I would be devastated if I was involved in someone losing their life whether it was their own fault or not. And, like I said, there is the possibility of paralysis, vegetative state, limb loss, etc. too. If you already feel that your life isn't very valuable, I'd hate to see you get into one of those states. I do wish you would be more careful.Quote:
Originally Posted by farrellcollie
I think not wearing a helmet is totally irresponsible. A dog caused my accident, and a helmet saved me. It had nothing to do with how fast or slow I was riding. It had nothing to do with how busy a road I was on. Things happen. Why wouldn't you want to protect yourself with something as simple as wearing a helmet?
But it's the children not wearing them that upsets me. It may not be cool, but it's not cool to be brain damaged either. There is a wonderful poster in a neurologist's office that has all sorts of medical devices and a helmet. The words at the bottom say, "Which one of these would you rather wear?"
I had a child approximately 8 years old who was not wearing a helmet tell me he'd been riding for years and didn't crash. I told him I'd been riding for over 50 years when I crashed. No impression was made. Parents have to insist that children wear helmets. They--some parents & children--don't understand the consequences of a crash without a helmet. Sorry-this is my personal soapbox.
On the local bike path, not only is it the case that probably 70% of riders are not wearing helmets (you definitely see a lot more "recreational" riders than "serious" riders, but still), but I'm astonished how many parents I see riding with young children (like 4-8 year olds), and the children have helmets but the parents do not. :confused::confused::confused:
I think that people who do and do not wear helmets should have wills, guardians named for their children (or pets), and living wills and/or health care directives.
I don't care if adults wear helmets... that's their choice. I do care about kids though.Quote:
Originally Posted by liza
Adults should teach kids to wear helmets and should make them wear them properly from a young age, so the kid is OK wearing them when they get older.
One day I was out riding the lake, and on the side where a lot people ride in the street with cars (the path is skinny and beat up on that side)... I saw a Dad riding in front of his son (not watching the kid or protecting him by riding behind him)... the kid was maybe 8 years old, riding in the street, with the adult in front of him... and no helmet. I was upset seeing that. Of course the Dad was sans helmet, and smoking a cigarette while riding. NICE!
I have a friend who rides... and she refuses to wear her helmet properly. She won't tighten it on her head... it slides half way over her head... and she has taught her daughter (11 years old) to do the same thing. I pointed out that if she had a wreck, the helmet wouldn't do any good. She said it was uncomfortable the other way. So she wears it, but it's pointless really. Her and her daughter might as well not bother wearing them.
Otherwise, I know a lot people think a path is safer than the road so they don't wear a helmet. False sense of security there. My boyfriend demolished his first bike on a bike path.
Liza, I think that sends the worst message of all. "When you grow up and are smart, you won't need to wear a helmet."
I still have an image of a young mother with a toddler in a child seat on the back of her bike and a baby in one of those pappoose sorta slings on her. The three of them were on a bicycle and not a helmet in sight. I wish I'd have called the police. She was definitely endangering those children. They were approaching railroad tracks. What was she thinking????
She wasn't! :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by Aint Doody
OT: Hiya, Susan. How was Cycle Zydeco? If you posted a ride report, I missed it. I'm hoping to do that next year!
Portland helmet advocacy is a good scene... encountered it at the Multnomah County Bike Fair last year. Helmets aren't mandatory by law in Oregon so they have a cute program advocating their use.
That said, the bike snobs here in Vancouver are all about not wearing helmets. Those little cycling caps may make you look cool but they won't protect your brain... and I must admit I do feel pretty dorky wearing my helmet riding with the cool kids... but my head will be okay if anything happens, so I feel a bit better bombing down main streets.
Saw this...thought it was a fit with this tread...
http://safetyissexy.blogspot.com/